Let's start by saying that, in my opinion, Platinum has never made a bad game (at least of the ones I've played). Some have been "okay," but from my experience, nothing they've ever made has been actually bad. This is true of this game, as well. This game also, however, falls largely into that "okay" category.

The art style of the game is great, combining cel shading with a comic design for the characters rather than the awkward almost clay-looking models that some recent iterations of the turtles have used. The characters are fairly well defined with the four distinct personalities portrayed well. Michelangelo is perhaps a bit *too* obnoxiously pizza-obsessed to the point where the joke feels like beating a dead horse, but that's fairly true to his character, so that's more of a personal gripe.

The game's biggest flaw is its length; it took me less than 5 hours to beat all 9 levels. Now the unlockable/upgradable abilities, four difficulty levels, and online play may add some replay value, but generally speaking, the game feels too short. Normally I'm not one to complain about a game's being too short; I'd rather a game be really good and short than drag on and overstay its welcome. The problem is that this game is okay. If you're a big TMNT fan like I am, it may bump up to "pretty good," but generally speaking, it's just "okay." It plays a bit like a slowed down, lower budget Bayonetta (and, given that Platinum developed it, that shouldn't be a big surprise).

I'm not saying you should avoid this game at all, but I don't think I'd recommend it until you see it in the bargain bin.

Elkin, did you play it solo? From everything I've read, it's really a game designed w/ co-op in mind. I *might* give it a go this weekend, though that would've been far more likely had it supported local co-op.

noiseredux wrote:Elkin, did you play it solo? From everything I've read, it's really a game designed w/ co-op in mind. I *might* give it a go this weekend, though that would've been far more likely had it supported local co-op.

I didn't even know this game existed. I'm still not entirely sure why it does. It's passable, but pitifully easy right up until the end, where the last boss has three forms, two of which are dirt-simple, and the last which... well, once you have the pattern, it's really simple, too.

Now here's a game I've had my eye on for about two years. I LOVE this soundtrack, and at some point I realized I'd seen the bionic wolfman character (Brad Fang) in Sega Visions way back when I was a kid. I'd thought he was super cool. So, I was inspired to pursue Hard Corps for both new and nostalgic reasons.

I finally picked it up at a gaming convention earlier this month thanks to a generous vendor who, after seeing my regret that I did not have enough money to spend on it, brought the price on his loose cart down to $25. Thank you, generous vendor. *wipes single tear of joy*

And, well, I loved it. This is the kind of game that is overflowing with ideas. Bosses are huge, have several forms, and are interesting, over-the-top ridiculous, and occasionally kinda gross. There's a choose-your-own-adventure component which forces you to make big plot decisions at two different junctures, resulting in four different endings. You have four different characters with personalized arsenals of four weapons each. And the events that unfold, and even some enemy entrances, are unexpectedly expressive and cinematic. There's just so much going on here.

With its four playable characters of unique strengths/weaknesses and four different endings, this is a title that you'll want to go back and experience in different ways again and again and again.

I only have two complaints. One is that sometimes it's not clear when bosses suddenly won't kill you from being touched (there was one boss I couldn't figure out because I didn't realize its legs were suddenly benign in its final form). The other is that when you pick up a new weapon, you automatically switch to it. I kept getting wasted in the first stage because Brad Fang has a weapon that requires charging up before unleashing. I'd be jogging along, happily decimating everything with my gatling gun arm by holding B; then I'd get switched to the charging weapon and just run full-body, suddenly unprotected by a bullet stream, into the next enemy. Pretty embarrassing for a supposed super solider!

I've only beaten one path as Fang, so I'm interested in seeing the remaining endings. I'm curious to try out the other characters too and see how they handle, but it's hard to make that choice. Fang is like my new Raph.

* = replay

Last edited by Key-Glyph on Thu May 26, 2016 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

BogusMeatFactory wrote:If I could powder my copies of shenmue and snort them I would

This is a game I've had my sights on for a LONG time. Like, since I saw it in Nintendo Power 7 years ago. Honestly, I really didn't know what to expect after waiting for so long, but I was very very pleasantly surprised with this great game.

The action is good. Hatsworth moves just about as fast as he needs to to maneuver the platforming and enemies, and you need to constantly be keeping your combos in mind in the later levels so you don't get squashed in and murderized, because this game is harrrd. I would say in terms of general difficulty, it's probably one of the hardest original DS games I've ever played.

In terms of gameplay, it's your standard jumping and platforming affair. You slowly get new powers like a wall jump and a dash move, but that's it in terms of your mobility. You use a cane/sword to combo up enemies, and once you kill an enemy it goes down to the puzzle screen. The puzzle game on bottom is just Panel De Pon. You match blocks and tiles to get up a puzzle bar which can restore your health, activate powerups, and if you get it all the way, you can activate it for a big invincible super-robot suit.

The game has character in spades from the uber-English Tea Land it's set around. Hatsworth and his myriad of enemies are all very silly, and the music is also great to compliment it. The story is nothing incredible, but the characters are written very entertainingly, and I'll say that I genuinely didn't expect the twist at the end.

Verdict: It's not the best platformer ever, but I really loved it. In my opinion, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 3rd party action game of this quality on the DS. It'll always remain in my heart around where Loco Roco 2 is: A very charismatic platformer that I'll remember forever

I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me